| Summary: | The western North Pacific region is one of the centers of action of decadal time scale variations in the atmosphere and ocean, and also oceanic ecosystem can be strongly influenced by the variations. One of the key variable of the decadal variations is sea surface temperature (SST) that varies as a result of interaction between the atmosphere and ocean. To improve our understanding of the key element, SST variaions in the two frontal zones in the western North Pacific Ocean, the Kuroshio Extension and subarctic frontal zones, are investigated on the basis of an in situ observational dataset. Interannual-to-decadal variations in these two frontal zones are not highly correlated, indicating that to some extent different mechanisms induce the SST variations in the frontal zones and those two frontal zone cannot be considered as a single frontal zone as has been done in most of previous studies. Meanwhile, the results are consistent with the recent studies that suggest different mechanisms for the variations in the two frontal zones on the basis of a solution to an eddy-resolving, i.e., very high horizontal resolution, ocean general circulation model. International Symposium, "The Origin and Evolution of Natural Diversity". 1–5 October 2007. Sapporo, Japan.
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